ACS Athens Elementary School 2016
Our Stories, Essays and Poems
First Graders have a Dream....
By Anastasia Michalididou
By Ofri Naor 2
Table of Contents
Page
Short Stories …………………………………………………………………......4 Stories written and illustrated by our Kindergarteners …………………………………………………….18 Stories about Me…………………………………………………………….….22 Stories told and illustrated by our Junior Kindergarteners………………………………………..27 Articles about School and World News ………………….......32 Essays about what we have learned ……………………………...38 Poems ….…………………………………………………………………................52
Front Cover: Aineias Hristakos Back Cover: Chrisiida Vidalis Paganelis Editor: Leigh Anderson 3
Short Stories Fourth Grade Dream Paintings inspired by Gustav Klimt
Garrett Muelder
Michail Panagidis
Kyveli Hartzler 4
The Tennis Tournament By Third Grader Katrina Muelder Chapter 1 “Whew! This is a hot day!” exclaimed Jane. Jane and her friends Aidan, Sam, and Jason were playing tennis. “I want to stop,” said Jason. “Come on guys keep practicing! The tournament is tomorrow!”said Sam. “All right, all right,” said Jane. The ranking tournament-which ranks you from first to last(the last number depends on how many players there are)-would decide which coach and kind of ball would be best for them. “Let’s take a break, I’m tired!”exclaimed Sam, after playing hard. “Yah, me too,” said Jason .So they sat down and took a break. After the break, they continued playing. Chapter 2 “Hey Sam do you know how to drop shot?” asked Jane. “I’m not Sam, Jane, I’m Jason,” he said. “Oh! Sorry! You guys look SO alike!” And it was true, Jason, Sam, and Aidan all had brown hair and eyes, wore a t-shirt, shorts, a hat and tennis shoes. They were also tanned from the sun. Jane had basically the same things, but she was a girl. In fact, she was the only girl in her class that played tennis! “Hey Jane you OK? said Jason suddenly. Jane was snapped out of her daydream. “Yah, I’m OK,” she answered. I’m just worried about the tournament, she said in her mind. Tomorrow would be a tough day! Chapter 3 Then they played more tennis. Soon it was time to go home. The four amigos said goodbye, and started home. Jane ate dinner, brushed her teeth, and went to bed. “What if I come last place in the tournament!?”said Jane, “NO NO NO , that’s not right! I must think happy thoughts!” She kept talking to herself but soon fell asleep.The tournament would have to wait till tomorrow. In the mourning she ate breakfast, brushed her teeth, changed her clothes, packed her bag, and went to school. Chapter 4 The four amigos got to school, said hello ,and went to the board to see who they were playing against. “I don’t believe it!” they said together. On the board said Sam and Jason vs Jane and Aidan! “Well, let’s hop to it!” So they got in their positions and started playing. Bonk ,Bonk, Bonk ,Bonk went the ball. Slap, slap, slap, slap went the rackets. Pant, pant, pant, pant went the players. Soon, it was Sam and Jason 40p and Jane and Aidan 30. This was it, the last point. “If we do this, we can duce the game and might have a chance of winning.” whispered Jane. Chapter 5 Sam got ready, served, Aidan got in position, swung his racket, and……..and…he missed! “We won! We won! Your losers! Ha hah!”said Sam and Jason. Aidan and Jane were mad. They walked away. The next day, Sam and Jason did not see them. So when they went home, Jason and Sam called them. “If you don’t want to be friends, then fine!” The line cut off. “I feel kind of lonely,” said Sam the next day, “I think we should apologize.” So the two set off for Jane’s house. “We’re sorry, said Sam, Can you forgive us?” “Wait here,” said Jane. A moment later she appeared with Aidan. They smiled and said, “We forgive you!” 5
Learning to be a Friend By Third Grader Noya Young
It was the first day of school. I was new in school. Some monsters [the story is based on monsters and not people.]looked at my green eyes, purple fur and asked, “What is your name?” “My name is Katie!” I answered and I already felt that I met new friends. Other monsters went to another monster with fluffy brown eyebrows, puffy red fur, and blue eyes, and asked “What is your name?” “My name is Sadmad,” he answered in grumpy voice. I walked slowly towards him. When I was pretty close “tiding tiding!” the bell rang and we had to start school. “Where is the 3rd grade class?” I asked myself quietly. Then, found a sign on one of the doors that said, “Welcome to the 3rd grade class!” I walked slowly and nervously into the classroom, “Good morning!” the new teacher said. “I’m Ms.Sophia! Are you Katie?” she asked. “That’s me!” I answered happily. “Have a seat darling,” Ms.Sophia said with a British accent. “Okay!” I answered. I sat down on the east front corner. Just after I sat down, Sadmad came and sat right next to me. After that, he looked at me and said, “Aaaamm…, please don’t laugh at me, but…
I don’t know how to be a friend. Please don’t tell it to anyone.”
“No problem, I can teach you!” I said, and Sadmad had a big smile on his face. After school, Sadmad and I went to a garden with all kinds of flowers all colors of flowers that you imagine. It looked like Sadmad enjoyed smelling the flowers and looking at them. That was a good start. “An important thing to know is that never judge how the monster looks. You need to judge how the monster acts,” I said. Every day, Sadmad and I went after school to the garden and I taught him something new. At the end of the year I finished teaching Sadmad. After school, Sadmad and I went to the garden for the last time. “Katie?”
“Yes sadmad?”
“Last night I said to myself: I already have a friend, from the beginning of the year!”
“Who is it?” I asked
“Katie, it’s you!
You are my B.F.F. ,
Best Friend Forever!!!”
Both of us had a BIG, BIG smile on our face!!! Second Grader Celia Michailida 6
The New Girl
By Third Grader Darine Sabbagh It was a beautiful day at Smith School in Faraway, Los Angeles, California. At that school Isabell, Mia, and Elli attended 4th grade. They were best friends even though they were very different from each other. Isabell was tall and blond, with blue eyes like the sky. She spent much of her time swimming and studying since she was a very good student. Mia was a sweet girl with, brown hair. Her main loves were animals and so she helped in animal shelters. Elli was the third friend of the gang. She had red hair and studied piano in her free time. She is going to be a great musician one day! What they all had in common was there kindness and friendship. Then one day, a new girl came to the school named Jessie. Jessie wanted to make friends, but it was hard for her to be nice. She was actually very mean in the beginning. Isabell tried to include her in the group, but Jessie said mean comments to Mia and Elli and talked behind their back to Isabell. Isabell tried to tell her to stop and helped her to be kind, but Jessie didn’t listen. Isabell had to choose Mia and Elli, or Jessie. Of course, she picked Mia and Elli since they had not done anything wrong .So Jessie was left alone. After some time passed Jessie realized her mistake and apologized. Even though Mia and Elli were a little scared, Isabell reminded them how important it is to forgive and to be kind. So they decided to forgive her. Jessie became the new person, and they all became best friends. Now the gang had four members!!!
What Can Happen in a Forest? By Third Grader Niovi Lylakou
One sunny day, my two friends, Alice and Maria, decided to go for a walk and explore the forest. It was spring and all of the flowers were colorful. They were walking on the thick, green grass. The birds were singing on the tall trees. The bees were buzzing happily and the butterflies were dancing like they were ballerinas. The two girls were enjoying their walk as they were exploring the little bugs of the forest. It was already getting dark, but the girls did not want to leave. Suddenly, a huge, brown, scary bear appeared in front of them. Alice and Maria started screaming and began to run away. Unfortunately, Maria slipped on a rock! She fell down. Alice didn’t leave her friend. The bear was running after them. They were screaming! The bear was next to them and he grabbed Maria. Alice thought that he was going to eat her friend, but instead he hugged her and kept her on his lap! That was when I arrived. I was looking for the bear that left from Arcturos. I explained to the girls that this bear was domesticated so he was not going to harm them. He from the place he was kept and was lost. So finally, the three friends took the bear to Arcturos, where we had a beautiful dinner laughing and telling our stories to each other the rest of the night! 7
The Magic Door
By Third Grader Iliana Lyssais One day Iliana called Noa, Eva, Ornella, and Ioanna to ask them if they wanted to go to the mall together. They all said yes (they were all best friends). After 20 minutes they all showed up in front of Iliana’s house. After they got in a car and drove to the mall. At the mall they split up and said “Let’s meet at the entrance of the mall in one hour.’’ Not all of them agreed because they needed more time to shop so they made it two hours. After two hours past, they met at the front entrance. They were very hungry, especially Eva. So they went to the café and ate something. After that, they went to a vending machine to buy a juice and some chips for dessert. Next to the vending machine was a little wooden door that caught their attention. They took a couple of minutes to think if they wanted to open the door or not. They finally decided to open it and step in it. At the entrance was a little fairy named Eleana. The girls introduced themselves and asked Eleana why she was there. Eleana said “This is the door of kindness. If someone is not kind, this door does not appear, if someone is kind the door appears and most of the people want to come in.’’ Then Eleana and the other fairies showed them around. “Here is the palace where the king and queen of Fairyland live. Every weekend one of fairies gets to stay with them. Since today is Saturday you could ask them if you could stay with them for a couple of hours after the tour.” said Eleana. After she showed them around they went to the palace for 2-3 hours. After that, they thanked the fairies. Eleana showed them the way out. The Mall was closing so they rushed to the door and left. When they arrived only some of them told their mothers about the adventure they had had. The next morning that group of friends went to the mall again after they shopped again for 2 hours, they went back to the vending machine. The door had not appeared, but luckily Eleana had given the number of Fairyland to Iliana. So Iliana called Eleana to tell her what happened Eleana said that the door appears only one time to the same person. But if someone forgets about them, it may show up. Iliana said to the other girls, “I don’t think I’d never forget about this adventure because it was such an adventure!” After that they went home for a couple of hours, and then they met for lunch around 2:00 o’clock. They went to a pizza place and they discussed a little more about the adventure. After they said if they wanted to meet at night time for a little snack they all agreed they went home for a while most of them took a nap. Night time struck and they went to a café for a little snack. Iliana said to all her friends that she would like to visit Chicago. After a couple of seconds all of them said with a sigh, “I would like to visit Chicago too.” So they said that maybe they could book a flight for next week everyone one agreed that they would leave Monday and return next Tuesday so that’s what they did. On Monday the met at the airport at 9:00 o’clock they needed to be on the plane at 10:30. They kept thinking that it is not such a long trip because they were living in New York City. When they reached Chicago the thing they said when the stepped outside was it is so pretty. The next morning they went to the mall where they shopped for a while, and then went to a vending machine and next to it was a little wooden door and the same thing happened after a week they returned. They decided to take a tour of the world everywhere they found Eleana. 8
The Diamond Steal
By Third Grader Adrianos Botsios Stealer Sean, Stealer Angelos, and Stealer Stelios always liked to steal. They made big steals in all the banks and museums. Mr. Adrianos, Mr. Evan, and Mr. Alex always liked to catch criminals. They like to search for mysteries. It all started when the bell of the museum rang. A man with black clothes ran out of the museum. The police started chasing him because he was stealer Sean. He ran towards a helicopter and there was stealer Stelios and stealer Angelos ready to take off. Mr. Adrianos said “Mr. Alex go with the police car, and Mr. Evan and I will go walking.” Mr. Alex agreed, so Mr. Adrianos and Mr. Evan were trying to catch stealer Sean. Mr. Alex was very close to catch stealer Sean but stealer Sean jumped into the helicopter and all the stealers were gone. The police decided to make a plan that was plan A. They dressed just like normal people. When they saw stealer Angelos, they started chasing him then Mr. Adrianos said “Mr. Alex, go on the other side.” After that stealer Angelos was surrounded. After stealer Sean and Stealer Angelos were caught, Stealer Stelios sprayed smoke and all the stealers were gone again. Mr.Adrianos said “shoot they escaped!” They decided to make plan B. For plan B, the police officers left a diamond in a shop. When the stealers came (stealer Sean, stealer Angelos, and stealer Stelios) Mr. Evan was on a police helicopter ready to go. When the stealers came to the shop, Mr. Adrianos went in the shop chased stealer Angelos to the exit then Mr. Alex put stealer Angelos into the police helicopter. After Mr. Adrianos chased stealer Stelios to the exit and Mr. Alex did the same. Then, Mr. Adrianos almost caught stealer Sean but Mr. Alex caught stealer Sean at the steps before he could have escape, and put him in the helicopter. Then everyone cheered hooray for Mr. Adrianos, who saved the diamond shop.
9
The Diamond Sea
By Third Grader Georgia Spanoudaki One night in Hawaii, the water was blue and the sky was dark. The girls were in bed fast asleep. Mom was down stairs making lunch for tomorrow at school. It was burgers with fried potatoes. The next morning, the girls woke up. Felicity had orange hair in two braces and green shirt, a yellow scarf, a brown cowboy hat, brown boots and some freckles. Ariana had brown hair, blue jeans, a neckless with green pearls, a yellow shirt, shiny blue eyes and purple toms. The girls went down stairs for breakfast. It was the first day of school. Ariana was going to 8th grade and Felicity to 6th grade. After breakfast, the girls went outside to leave by bus to school. Felicity sat next to her best friend, Monica and Ariana next to Julie. Monica had blonde hair, glasses, pink shoes, a black t-shirt, grey pants. The girls were discussing their new teachers. When the girls arrived at school, they waked towards their classroom. “ Hooray! We are together! “ cried Monica. “ yes, you are right!” Said Felicity. The girls walked in. They were in a big classroom. They chose a seat. Felicity sat next to Monica. “Good morning, boys and girls. How were your holidays? I am your 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Sylvia. I have a list of names here that are in our class” said Mrs. Sylvia. “ stand up if you hear your name please. Sofia, Marcos, Carlos, Jenny, Kelly, James, Katerina, Ioanna, Stelios, Alex, Stavi, Ashley, Evan, Monica, Evgenia, Fanni, Spyros, Yiorgos, Sean, Angelika and Martha.” announced Mrs. Sylvia. All of the class was standing apart from Felicity. “ oh, sorry! And Felicity” said Mrs. Sylvia. “First we will start with writing”. “ ouch” said Monica. She shut closed her had on the door. She asked Mrs. Sylvia if she could go to the nurse. Mrs. Sylvia let her go with Felicity. On the way, Felicity bumped her head. When they went inside, the nurse asked them what happened. The girls explained. The nurse said that they should go home because Monica broke her finger and Felicity had fever. The girls went to Monica’s house. They wanted to go to the beach. They asked Monica’s mom to go to the beach but she said that they could go only for a walk. When they went to the beach, Monica loved the color of the sea and dived with her swimming suit that she had bought. The water was so icy and cold. Suddenly, she found something shiny. It was a diamond!!!!!!!!!!!! She could not believe it!!!! She showed it to Felicity. The girls went to Felicity’s house after, so they do not show Monica’s wet hair to her mother. At Felicity’s house, Monica took a shower and dried up her hair. Then, they played monopoly and Monica won. After 10
that they decided to have a snack and go to Monica’s house to ask her dad how there was a diamond in the sea. Monica’s father was a scientist. He said that he did not know about it. That night, when Felicity was sleeping, Ariana came and stole it from her. Next morning, Felicity woke up. She looked for the diamond but she could not find it. She went downstairs shouting “where is the diamond?”. Her sister was downstairs too and she was laughing. Felicity gave a dirty look to Ariana. “Which diamond?”, their mom said? “The one that Ariana found in the sea”, Felicity said. “Oh, you are so silly” Ariana showed me the diamond” but i discovered it is an egg. It has a shape of a diamond and it looks like someone painted on it and left it in the water. Then, the sea gave it a shine. That is what i know about this weird thing. But i do not think it is a diamond, said her mom.”I have to tell Monica!” said Felicity. “And I am going to be late to school!”shouted Ariana running out the door grabbing her bag. While Ariana was leaving, Felicity quickly called Monica and told her what her mom told her. She also asked her if she was okay and if she would go to school. Monica said , “ I am a little better and I still can’ t come to school “. “Great ! Then ,we can go to the beach and leave it in the water , where you found it” , said Felicity . But i can’t swim because the water has salt and it’s not allowed for my finger (my broken one ) “, said Monica. “Ok ! I’ll swim “ , said Felicity. The girls met at the bus stop to go faster to the beach, before the egg cracks. After ten minutes, the girls reached the beach . Felicity ran in the sea and swam without Monica. Monica was telling her where she found it. Felicity put it back and came out . The girls were happy again. The next morning , the girls were fine. Monica raised her hand, to tell Ms.Sylvia all about yesterday and that she found the diamond. Felicity popped up “ I did ! “ “ No ! “, said Monica. “Stop arguing with each other ! Because the most important, is that you put it back in the sea, so it can crack and live with it’s mother “ ,said Ms.Sylvia. The girls thought about it. Then,they hugged each other and were friends again. 11
The Funny Sloth
By Fourth Grader Antonis Chatzinikolis
The sun was rising, owl Marry was humming and it seemed like a nor-
mal day in the Amazon Rainforest. The high trees were getting lightened up from the sun and the beautiful trees and flowers were getting visible.
Brown throated Sloth Tom woke up with a big smile and he said, “Let’s
criticize all the animals in the Amazon Kingdom.” Tom Sloth loved history and his favorite place to be was near the statues. The statues were replicas of the Incas. Sloth taught a history class in the palace of King Jaguar. He loved learning and teaching history but he was also mischief.
On an old statue Tom Sloth saw Armadillo Peter resting near a Boat
under the shade. Sloth said, “Hey Armadillo, do you ever wonder why you can’t fit anywhere?”
“No,” Armadillo Peter replied.
“Because you’re so fat and you look like a rock.”
“I will get revenge,” Peter screamed and began sobbing. Everything
was moving smoothly until Sloth arrived and got Peter upset.
As Sloth was walking he started feeling very hot. The sun was as hot
as Sloths oven. So the Sloth stopped for a drink of water in the Amazon River.
As time passed, Tom saw his two best friends, Red Bellied Piranha
John swimming with Green Anaconda George. Sloth said, “Are you guys married? Because you’d make a great couple.”
“Excuuuuuuuse me,” the Red bellied Piranha John shouted.
“You underestimate us,” The green Anaconda George exclaimed! “ARRGH,” The piranha John opened his mouth and went to bite Tom,
but Tom escaped. At the Rainforest Castle King Jaguar was getting complaints from all the Animals. Owl Mary came to the rain forest palace and talked to King, KooKoo.
“Sloth Tom is making fun of everybody, King” Owl Mary said upset.
“Yes,” Armadillo Peter shouted. “He told me that I’m so fat I look like a rock.” Peter put his head down and was about to sob. 12
The castle had an Amazon River passageway for the Animals that live
under water. From that passageway Red-Bellied Piranha John came. John also expressed his complaints to the King, “Tom Sloth said that I look like a fat red fish.”
“Yeah”, Anaconda George said. “He also said we would make a great
couple.”
“Enough!” the King roared! “I will deal with Tom myself!”
Meanwhile Marry Owl tried to find him too and Anteater went with Marry Owl. Sloth was on his way back home, his home was close to the sea. Near the sea, Tom Sloth saw a big thing moving. He went closer and closer and saw a shark. The shark seamed to be a Megalodon shark.
“ROAR!!!” The Megalodon shouted.
“ ROAR,” Tom repeated. For once Tom Sloth was actually scared. “Ar-
en’t you supposed to be extinct?” he asked as he was shivering from fright. “NO, I’m the only Megalodon not extinct!”
Even though Sloth felt scared, somehow he still had the nerves to
insult Megalodon. “Why do you, a bubble head, need to be the last of your kind?”
At Sloth’s home Anteater Bob was waiting inside. He heard the noises
and went to see what was happening outside. As he was trying to help Tom, Tom kicked Bob and Bob fell in the water and Megalodon ate the Anteater. Tom escaped and left feeling no guilt.
Finally Owl Marry found Tom and took him straight to King Jaguar.
Finally Jaguar decided to take sloth to the river where he would be devoured by Piranha and Megalodon. At the river the Animals were screaming, “ KILL HIM, KILL HIM,” so the two piranhas were ready to eat him.
“Any last words?” said the King.
“YES!” Sloth grabbed the knife he had and cut himself loose. “Stop him” King Jaguar screamed, but it was too late sloth had left. Sloth went home and as he calmed down he realized what terrible things he had done. He swore he would never do it again in his life. He felt so bad for all the terrible things he had done, that he left his home and went to begin over at a nearby village. 13
The Anteater and the Log By Fourth Grader Garrett Muelder
Deep, deep, deep in a jungle in Suriname, there was a greedy anteater. Anteater wanted a snack but could not find anything to eat. Anteater went searching for food until he bumped into Jaguar. Anteater told Jaguar his problem, “Oh Jaguar, I cannot find anything to eat and my belly is grumbling!” Jaguar replied back “I have haunted a tapir for lunch; maybe you could try some meat for once. Meat is the best” bragged Jaguar. Anteater thanked Jaguar and kept on searching. While he searched, he ran into Capybara. Anteater told his problem, “Capybara, I am really hungry, have you seen any ants and termites”. Capybara told him “I am not an anteater. How would I know were ants and termites live?” So Anteater kept on searching. Soon he caught sight of Otter making a dam in the river. Anteater told his problem the third time. “Otter, please can you tell me where I can find ants and termites, I am so hungry.” Otter thought for a moment, then snapped his little fingers, “I saw a log near here that is full of ants and termites” replied Otter. Otter showed the way to the log. Anteater franticly jumped up and down. He ran to the log and sucked all the ants and termites he could find. Then night fell. Anteater was now done with the feast. This was the easiest task that I have done. And probably the best one yet, thought anteater. As he went out, he could not get out of the log. He tried again. Still didn’t get out. As everybody went inside their homes, Anteater was stuck for a night. “Well this is going to be a long night” mumbled Anteater. Moral: Tasks sound easy when they are very hard
The Fight for King
By Fourth Grader Michail Panagidis One spring day in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, the beautiful flowers were growing, the soil was soft and the trees weere tall. When suddenly there was a big fight with 3 animals. The first animal was the puma. The puma was good at math and he was smart. He could climb trees really fast and was always fighting for food. The second animal was a jaguar. The jaguar was quick because he ran in the jungle and was noisy because he liked to ROAR loud every day. The third animal was a monkey. He was small, fast and sneaky. The animals were fighting everyday because they all wanted to be the king. But one day a heart beak eagle flying in the sky saw the 3 animals fighting. The eagle was spying on them all day, and before he decided to leave he said to the animals, ‘’Stop fighting! Be friends.’’ The animals decided that they should be friends. The monkey who was the smallest shouted to the puma, ‘’we should be friends.’’ The puma whispered, ‘’Yes we should be friends,’’ but the jaguar screamed. “No!! Because I want to be the king!’’ The puma and the monkey agreed that he could be the king and still be good friends. The new friends started to care and help each other in the jungle, and at the end, didn’t even remember what they were fighting for in the first place. Moral: Stop fighting and enjoy friendships!!! 14
Friends Are Always There For You By Fourth Grader Lydia Gerontikos
Once upon a time there was a barn owl. His name was Oliver. Oliver was a large owl with a large head and a characteristic heart-shaped face. He had long strong legs with powerful talons. His best friend was called Olivia. Olivia was a scarlet macaw. She was a beautiful large, red, yellow and blue South American parrot. She has a creamy white, almost featherless face, with bright red plumage covering most of her body, wings and long tail. One day Oliver was sitting on a pink blossom tree and he actually was looking very sad. His heart shaped face was tilted down and he hardly moved. Olivia seeing him this way flew to the tree that Oliver was sitting on and asked him in a loud voice, “Why are you sad all the time? Why didn’t you come see this morning? Why didn’t you come to my party last night? All my friends wanted to meet you.” “Please stop it! I can’t take it anymore. I think it’s better if we stop being friends for a while,” Oliver said. “OK! I never wanted to be your friend anyways,” Olivia replied. Actually she didn’t feel this way. She liked him a lot and she loved spending time with him. However, they both looked at each other and flew at opposite directions. They were both very proud birds to step down or to say they were sorry to each other. Olivia flew to her friend Glamier. Glamier was a red and green macaw, but with shorter wings and she was from the island of Trinidad. Olivia being mad at Oliver decided to say a false rumor to Glamier about Oliver, knowing that Glamier was the gossip queen of the rainforest, and would spread the rumor.
“Do you know that Oliver has been eating small hatchlings for breakfast?”
“Disgusting,” replied Glamier.
A few days later Glamier told all the rainforest animals about Oliver’s strange breakfast. It didn’t take long until Oliver found out from his friend Patrick, the parrot about Olivia’s lies. At that point he got upset and couldn’t believe what she had done. However, Oliver was not like other owls. He did not go around spreading rumors about Olivia. He bolted directly to Olivia’s nest to solve the problem. It was almost night and the sun was going down. They sat at a branch near her nest and he told her about his family crisis, that a group of hunters had captured his father. He was very upset but didn’t know what to do and this is why he had been sad. He explained that he is the protector of his family now, but he feels helpless. “But you didn’t say anything to me,” Olivia replied. “If you had told me from the beginning, things would have been different now.
“I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me. From now on I promise, I will
never keep secrets from you again.” Oliver and Olivia lived happily ever after, in the Amazon Rainforest with all their animal friends. 15
The Pig that Changed the History By Fourth Karolos Fix
I am a pig from 776 B.C. Today is the 1st day of the Olympic Games. Athletes are practicing for the finals. They are racing. They are all Greek. They are planning two things for today: first to eat me and then to win the Olympics for the honour of every colony. The price is an olive tree wreath. My goals are number one: to ESCAPE and number two: to try and win the Olympics!
I’ve been planning my escape for months. Now it’s the time. The
only thing that is left to do is a petit dash. And so….I escaped. I sneaked behind all the other athletes. But from between the crowds comes the butcher slowly but surely.
Just then, the judge yells “3..2..1…GO!”. We all sprinted. I’m second. The
first suddenly trips, I’m in the lead and I win!!!
All the people lift me up and they place me on the highest place of the
risers and offer me the olive wreath.
Since then, a lot of changes have happened. For example, I’ am the new
Zeus and now people sacrifice butchers in my honour.
16
Believe in Santa or not? By Fourth Grader George Fafoutis
One day there was a boy named Jimmy. Jimmy was a 5-year old boy. He smiled all the time and he was a very good boy. The thing that made him sad was that his best friends did not believe in Santa! That was the problem and it made him sad because when he told his friends, “Santa is real,” they kept saying, “No he’s not, no he’s not.” It was 30 days until Christmas and Jimmy said enthusiastically, “I can’t wait until Christmas!!!” “Christmas is not real!” Even his worst friend said this to Jimmy! Jimmy was amazed, when he heard his worst friend talk to him, especially because he never talked to him! Jimmy said, “I can’t believe him, he’s my worst friend, how can you believe your worst friend.” The next day Jimmy said, “Its 29 days until Christmas.” His mom said, “The school bus is outside hurry.” Jimmy bolted outside and he saw charcoal. He went into the bus and asked the bus monitor, “Why is there charcoal or some brown stuff on the floor?” The bus monitor replied, “because a crazy guy had some brown stuff and that brown stuff fell out of the car!” Jimmy said, “Oh.” A few days later Jimmy said, “It’s 2 days until Christmas! YAY, we are so close!” Jimmy was so excited that he brushed his teeth swiftly, and ate breakfast as fast as a snap. Then he said, “Goodbye,” to his mom and went outside. He was too early for the school bus so he waited 6 minutes. Finally his school bus came, he got in there running and the bus monitor asked him, “Why are you so happy Jimmy? Jimmy replied, “Because it’s Christmas the day after tomorrow!!!” The bus monitor told him, “Oh yeah about that,” Jimmy replied, “What yeah about that?” The bus monitor told him, “Santa is not real.” Jimmy replied, “The school only said that just to make us believe it?” the bus monitor hesitantly told Jimmy, “Yeah that is true.” It was Christmas night he was not excited because he knew that his mom was the suspect. In midnight he didn’t sleep and he saw his mom going towards the Christmas Tree, at that moment Jimmy left his bed running towards the Christmas Tree. “Mom what are you doing there?”Said Jimmy. His mom was shocked! “Honey I tried my best to be a Santa, I just wanted to make you blessed for Christmas. “You mean you never told me”? Asked Jimmy and interrupted her. “ I’m very angry at you!” Jimmy said and then added, “I’m not going to talk to you for 2 days”! His mom then told him what she got him for Christmas and he loved it, so Jimmy said, “Ok I will not talk to you for 1 day.” Finally it was the day after tomorrow and it was a normal day like all the other days. 17
Stories Written and Illustrated by our Kindergarteners Kindergarten City Scapes inspired by Paul Klee
Sofia Zorzou
Gregory Sietis
Paris Diamandis 18
The Land of the Letter People By Anastasia Nakhleh
My Favorite Season By Nadia Aravantinou
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Use The Force
By Alexander Pazartzis
The Day I went to the Zoo By Cheng Shang
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My Dogs
By Odysseas Kanavos
The Fireman’s House By Nadia Aravantinou
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Stories about Me
Dimitris Sgouropoulos
Constantinos Pazartzis
Fifth Grade Self-Portraits
Irini Stavropoulos 22
My Three Day Weekend in Athens By Second Grader Maggie Al Maleh
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When I Went to the Hospital By Fourth Grader Mara Ostheimer
One day my grandmother and I went on a biking trip. It was just me and my grandma. It was a warm and sunny day outside in Germany. It was about mid-day and there was a little breeze outside. It was just right weather for a nice time for a bike ride I persuaded my grandmother and off we went for a real adventure. But first we stopped by the supermarket and my grandma bought ice cream, with smarties inside. The smarties were filled with chocolate and it was a perfect combination with the vanilla. It just tasted perfect. When my grandmother and I were done with our ice cream we both said, “Let’s do this now.” We got on our bikes and started heading home. There was a hill that my grandmother and I had to go down. My grandma was hesitant going down and asked me, “Mara should I take your bike and we will walk down slowly together?” “No I am fine grandma,” I told her. I looked down the hill and I knew I was ready for this. It seemed thrilling at that time. We started going down. I was confident. First I just was going down the hill holding my bike parallel from me. Then when me and my grandma were in the middle of the hill we jumped on our bikes and started riding. However, when i jumped on my bike it started riding on its own. The hill was too steep and my bike started to speed. Suddenly, I heard a “bring boom zam zam” and then I realized that my brakes were broken. I could not stop!!! “AHH,” I screamed so the whole world could hear my scream. My grandma cried, “MARA PRESS THE BRAKES!” “AHH THEY’RE BROKEN,” I screamed, not knowing what to do! I felt like the world was falling apart and I had no idea of how to stop my bike. My grandma was panicking, I was too. I was scared. The wind was blowing really hard, the clouds covered the sun. I got nervous. I wiggled my bike around. Somehow I landed on a road, a car came my exact way. I knew I didn’t want to die but my bike didn’t stop moving so I put all the pressure in front, I made a flip and landed right on my chin and ear! Out of my chin came tons of blood, it created a small pond next to me. Also my ear was covered in blood. I could taste a disgusting taste of mud, as there was a lot under my tongue the way I landed. My grandma was crying she called my mom to get me to the hospital. I was crying too. The driver of the car jumped out and got tissues to put under my bloody chin. My mom came and drove me to the hospital, of course they helped me and I got healthy. But I still have a scar from it.
When I Crashed Into a Boat By Third Grader Alexandros Maheras
One day I wanted to wake up very early because … We were in London. I woke up at 6:30 A.M.I put my dad`s favorite music. He woke up half asleep! I did the same thing to my mom. It didn`t work, I was looking out the window. The bells rang for 7:00. It took mom 1 hour to wake up. (Like always). We got down. Like always, my mom is ONLY paying attention to the news. We got the metro. We went to Tower Bridge. I was so bored!!!!!!!!!!! We were waiting for 50 minutes to walk 20 meters. I was extremely furious with my mom. I saw 7 groups of very heavy set people. I was so bored!!!!!!!!! We went to Big Ben with a boat. All of a sudden, a GIGANTIC boat crashed into us. We were lucky we did not sink. We caught bus number 333. We went to Kings Cross station. We got a quick metro line to go to the hotel. I ate my F A V O R I T E ice cream. I so liked it. It was an exciting day. I bumped into fun that week. 24
My Glasses were Right
By Fifth Grader Aisha Saad Al Moraikhi
“Hello glasses, you are dirty let me clean you!” Aisha exclaimed.
“No, no please, I took a shower 2 weeks ago not again!” replied the glasses. “Sorry, I have to! You have been dropped a couple of times, stepped onto. You also got lost last Sunday,” added Aisha. “Fine! But careful I am very sensitive! My lenses are almost out of frame!” admitted the glasses.
“Now, what kind of soap do you want to use?” asked Aisha.
“Oh, that blue one! It keeps my legs spotless,” replied the glasses.
Aisha cleaned the glasses! They were spotless.
“You need to get new glasses. Your eye sight is getting weaker and weaker everyday! Stop using your laptop it’s not healthy for you and me!” begged the glasses.
“You’re just glasses nothing else!” snapped Aisha.
“One day you will regret not listening to me! Maybe I am just glasses but I am helpful!” remarked the glasses.
“I’m done with you!” yelled Aisha.
CRACK! CRACK!
“NO,NO,NO! Please! No! What have I done to ….,” cried the glasses.
“I got better glasses that are kind and not annoying!” yelled Aisha.
The glasses are gone forever. But guess what? The glasses were right! She never thought of how it would affect her life until now ….
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What I did during MEDIVALIS By Third Grader Joseph F. Palm
T’was a summer afternoon I was getting ready for Medivalis and a dinner with my cousins. You’ll never guess how much fun I had. I was getting my clothes on and I was sooooooooo excited!!!!! Then, I got my sandals, “Mom I’m soooo excited!!!!!”I cried. I was overjoyed about having dinner with my cousins. Medivalis is a tradition from Pontremoli and many people from Pontremoli go to Medivalis! Medivalis is a festive time for people in Pontremoli because you can find friends, see new things, and more. Also, there is a lot of good food to eat. In Pontremoli, there is a stone bridge that leads to the end of the other side. There are 3 bridges I think it took a lot of work to build them. I’ve been on that stone bridge many times. Also during Medivalis, there is a mini fake war to watch. I felt over energized for Medivalis it was like I couldn’t wait for it to happen. Meanwhile, I was walking on the stone bridge my dad said “Stop! I’ll take a picture of you.” My dad told me where to stand, so he could take the picture. When he took the picture I was wearing my war costume the things I had, were a sword, shield, and helmet. At the end of the day it was really late so I went home and went to sleep “zzzzz!” I had so much fun I wanted to do it again.
If I have extra Computer Time By Fourth Grader Peter Sfinias
Have you ever had extra computer time? Well I haven’t!! I need extra computer time because I will talk with friends, learn languages, and work at the computer. Early on I think talking with friend is really important also with relatives is very nice. Also you can have a lot of fun with them. I can talk with relatives that live really far or friends that live far away. For example I can talk with my godfather Aris!! That lives in Brazil. in addition I can talk with friends from school!!! That way we can talk about playing together or having a play date, sleep over, and talk about school homework. If I have extra computer time I will learn languages so they help me fix the computer, create my own games and help me in math. For example I will learn math by playing math games or going to sites and learning. For example like mathletics. Computer languages are going to help to fix a problem that maybe will appear. I will use this extra computer time to do work. If I do I could type faster because I will practice. It is easier because your hand does not get that tired. For example if you have to write 24 paragraphs it will be super faster than writing it with your hand. You can also find a lot of information for a project you have. In fact my mom and dad might be thinking having extra computer time may make me do not listen but I have a really good conclusion going to Google chrome and placing a timer bomb. That that means I will wake and I am going to say what am I doing I am playing to much time and I will stop. Or I can put other loud noises that can wake me up. I hope I convinced you about having extra computer time!!!!! Because I will work learn languages and talk with friends!!!!!!!! If I had extra computer time I will be more excited learning on the computer!!!!!!!! And I will have so much fun!!!!!!! 26
Stories Told and Illustrated by our Junior Kindergarteners
Ms. Kokkalis’ Junior Kindergarten Class
Ms. Mentes’ Junior Kindergarten Class 27
My Butterflies
By Afrodite Tselentis
Playing with Pandelis By Tamar Young
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Playing with the Ant By Davie Rados
The Butterfly and the Spider By Adrianos Maheras
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My Daddy
By Terry Zhang
Playing Ball with My Daddy By Ethan Madai
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My Family
By Minha Suzuki
Playing on a Rainy Day By Paris Stefanidis
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Articles about School and World News Third Grade Study of Warm and Cool Colors inspired by Kara Walker
Evangelos Paneras
Angelos Kollilekas 32
Newspaper By Fourth Graders Themis Soukakou and Kyveli Hartzler
“Ukraine’s success in Eurovision” What happened? The 2016 song contest, Eurovision, took place in Stockholm, Sweden. It is the second time in history, that Sweden hosts the contest. Last year, Sweden won the 1st place with the song “Heroes”, by Måns Zelmerlöw. This year, Ukraine came first, with the song “1944”, by Jamala. “1994” was inspired by the story of Jamala’s great-grandmother who was sent along with other Crimean Tatars in the Soviet Union under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Second, came Australia with the song “Sound of Silence”, by Dami Im. Third came Russia, with the song “You’re the Only One”, by Sergey Lazarev. There were several bets, that Russia would win, and France would come second with the song “J’ai Cherché” by Amir, but it seems that “1994” was liked best.
“AC/DC singer, Brian Johnson, became deaf” Why? Brian Johnson has lost his hearing from his left ear, from sitting in a racecar without wearing ear plugs. This threatens his performance with his band and so he has decided to withdraw until his hearing goes back to its previous level. “I heard my ear drum burst, because I forgot to put me plugs in under my helmet. That’s how it happened. Music had nothing to do with it” –Brian Johnson said.
“Walk for water’, or otherwise known as,’ walk4water’ ” When? What? Why? George Soukakos has a fresh and fun water project, Walk4Water. After the Spring Fair, on May 28th 2016, from 4:00p.m-5:00p.m, he will host an event in which friends and families of ACS will walk around the school (the brave ones can carry a bucket with water) and see how it is for thousands of women and children who have to walk miles every day to bring water at home, in less privileged places in the world. You will understand how difficult it is even for young kids, to walk long distances in order to reach water, and not always clean water, and safe like we have in our homes. Have you experienced it before? That is how young kids and adults in Africa live like! Fun and experience is awaiting you there. Registration starts at 3:00p.m, and the activity will start at 4:00p.m. George has also implemented 4 workshops for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students to raise awareness about water
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ASSEMBLY
By Fourth Grader Maria Giannaki At this fantastic school, every month all Elementary students gather in the theater. This is called an ASSEMBLY. There we share news like about different clubs, like H.E.A.R.T. and Dolphin but we also share dances. Interesting news is also presented like the Students of the Month. I think it is interesting going to the ASSEMBLY. But some of my class mates think that ASSEMBLIES are boring because sometimes they share boring things. For example projects that don’t offer you. And that is true sometimes. We should try to make the ASSEMBLY more interesting to students. You are welcome to come to our next ASSEMBLY.
Letter to the Principal Dear Mrs. Makropoulos,
Although you may agree or disagree, every student should be allowed to bring a laptop to school because it can help students in many different ways. My first reason of all is that the laptop saves time in school. Secondly, the students can easily research in and out of the class. Last but not least, the students can communicate on Moodle with their teachers and find their missing assignments. As I just mentioned, laptops should be allowed in school because they save time. In class we have three computers and we are 17 students. At a first glance of the computer lab I was dumbstruck by all the computers, but we have to run to the technology lab, turn on all the computers and waste time, when we could have them at our desks or bag to take home. We also use the laptops that we bring to class, but even that takes a lot of time to get and put back. It is not fun to rush. We could be using this time to actually do more work. The second reason is that the laptops in school can help students research easier. If you have a project you can research in class and then print it and answer the questions you have. We can find information online! The students in ACS Athens will be faster at homework in and out o+f school. If I have to wait for my mom to pick me up after my tennis or football lesson, then I can do my homework on my laptop in the big library or cafeteria. The students can make their own planners and make questions to answer about a project or something you need to know. In general laptops make our lives easier and we become more engaged with our learning and homework!!! Having laptops, means we will also be allowed to use Moodle. The students can communicate with their teachers instead of using Gmail. Teachers can know that you might be a little bit late for something. For example, you can tell them if you have Karate exams and you can’t finish your homework or can’t come to school tomorrow. You will be responsible and accountable for everything. Students can make their own project in school online, and they can find their missing assignments and complete them during their recess as a punishment. Moodle is going to help students a lot on their organizational skills. You may be thinking what I am thinking… We already have laptops in school. I am asking you to let us bring our own electronic device to school. Maybe some of us can get really popular laptops like a Mac that works faster, can download more files and we can have our own computer to save our own files. Every student should be allowed to bring a laptop in school because it can help students in many different ways. As I mentioned, laptops should be allowed in school because they save time. Also laptops in school can help students research easier. A student will also be allowed to use Moodle. Looking forward to your response. Sincerely, Fourth Grader Pavlos Somoglou 34
First Graders’ Favorite School Days
By Crystalia Emmanuouil
By Kalliopi Iliadaki
By Dimitrios Manioudakis
By Makis Kouroupos 35
Second Grader Kimon Nakhleh ‘s First Day at School
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First Graders Tell us about the Captain Chip Reading Club
By Elisabetta Voulgaraki
By Avra Petrou
By Mika Tully
By Rhea Hartzler 37
Essays about What We have Learned Second Grade Healthy Food Plates
By Philippos Mavroleon
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By Alkmini Farmaki
By Jacob Walker
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Second Graders Tell us How to Eat Right
The Fruit and Vegetable Group By Chrisiida Vidalis Paganelis
The Milk Group
The Meat Group
By Thanasis Beligiannis
By Maximos Athanasopoulos 40
The Milk Group
The Meat Group
By Elly Gerontikos
By Evangelos Paraskevopoulos
The Fruit Group By Juhong Min
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Students Write about Leprechauns
By Nikephoros Gontzes
By Katerina Logan 42
Fifth Graders Tell us about Life in Colonial Times My Life as an Apothecary By Alexia Kotroni
What a busy day! I had seventeen people come to the apothecary shop just this morning. My name is Jane Webb. I was born in Philadelphia in 1745. Philadelphia is where I live. Sometimes I travel to the New England colonies for business or because of something else, but mostly for business. I am an apothecary. My days are very busy. I have to visit people in their homes. I probably have to perform the task of bloodletting. I prefer to use leeches. I also have to make more remedies using a mortar and pestle. It is the start of the American Revolution and I am very scared. The Battle of Bunker Hill is probably happening right now. Everyone is scared these days. I wonder when it will all be over and the colonies will have independence. My dream is that the colonies will one day have independence and Britain will stop making us pay the taxes. I hope one day there will be no more wars and people will solve them calmly. I do not like wars, but if it is a case such as this, where people cannot listen to each other and the war is for independence, then war might just be necessary. My complaints are few. I have a well working occupation, but when customers are scarce I do not consider my days good. Of course the war is here, it affects me, it affects all of my friends and neighbors. I am a Patriot. I just found out just a few hours ago that many of the militia and minutemen died. That is very sad indeed, but we must go on if we want independence. Never in all of my life have I felt this strange feeling, as if I desperately want to speak out the real truth that some others do not see. Do not think me wrong, I am not complaining about my feelings. I merely want you to read and hear them. But I do want independence desperately. Imagine how you would or could live if you couldn’t do everything you wanted and needed to do. I was happy most of the time when I was younger. I wanted to be an apothecary since a young age. I didn’t know what the future held for me though. An apothecary is a hard job but I like it. But these difficult days only my job gives me pleasure. Before this war many things made me joyful, but now happiness is rare in the colonies. Sometimes I wonder what the future may hold. I think one day the universe will be a happier place. Maybe, I do not know, wars will stop. Maybe, just maybe, when and if I have children and grand children and great grand children and maybe even more, they will be happy, and they will tell their children about me and this war and about how the Patriots did not want to pay the taxes and about Patrick Henry and all the Patriots. Who knows? I certainly do not. I want to end by saying, as I said in the beginning, that there is almost always a way to get what you want and need, such as independence, other than fighting.
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My Life as a Plantation Owner By Sotiris Ploumbis
“Get to work you filthy slave!” Sorry for the interruption, my name is Thaddeus Crawford. I am a manor owner and I own more than 900 acres. I also own 22 slaves. I have lived since 1739 in Colonial Virginia. When I first came to Colonial Virginia I was 18 years old. Now I am 36 years old. My father was a rich merchant in England. I was born in a mansion on the northeast coastline of Newcastle in England. My father was missing most of the time. I just saw him during holidays. I left England at 18 so I could start my own business. At this point I have 2 children and a wife. The boy is named Hercules Crawford. The girl has taken her mother’s name, Elisabeth Crawford. As a planter, I am concerned about a lot, but my biggest concern is that the slaves will attack us. So I have hired extras overseers to punish them. This will make them afraid of me. Don’t think I’m mean, I play with my children. I play with them when I have time. As a planter you would think I have a lot of time,but I don’t. In the house the slaves do all the work, while I check records and accounts. I need to make sure the crops are planted, harvested, stored and planted. This is a big responsibility. Another big responsibility is fill in places of leadership. In a normal day I wake up at 6 am, then I am dressed by a slave. After this, I eat breakfast with my lovely family in the dining area of my huge house. Then I check the plantation and the slaves, or I study. If I am missing something I put a slave to make it in the workshop. You don’t realize how time passes. It passes fast. When I am done with my work, I eat lunch. Usually I eat deer or duck with my family. After I eat lunch I have free time, but this time I don’t. I have to go and buy a new mule because my old one died. In my free time I read, write, hear music, play billiard and cards. I also go for hunting fishing or horseback riding. At night I invite wealthy men for dinner. The only thing I hate in Virginia is the hot climate. Except of the climate I am satisfied with the colonies. I mean I miss England. What I miss the most is my dog Henry. It’s so hot I would like to seat in my leather buffalo chair. I would also like a glass of cold tea. As a manor owner I have many wishes, but my largest is to become the richest person of the 13 colonies. My life is great but I would love to stop smoking. Smoking is killing me. The thing that gives me a “light of happiness” are my children. I enjoy seeing them come over to me. In addition to myself I have a lot of memories. I have good and bad memories My happiest memory is my wedding. In conclusion I love my life.
Being a Teacher
By Amaryllis Antonopoulou Hello. My name is Katherine Walker. Now it’s 1645 and I’m teaching all day long. I live in Boston, Massachusetts. I don’t have a family. My parents died when I was 4 and I’m not married. I want to get married, but I can’t because I’m a teacher and female teachers can’t be married. I wonder why!? It’s really annoying to wake up almost every morning at 6:00 am just because school starts at 7:00 am. Most teaches a really strict but I’m not as much. The others teachers would make their students sit in a corner with a dunce cap in their head or whip them if they forgot their lessons. I just make them sit in a corner with a dunce cap on their head. I also make them do chores. I believe hitting will not teach them a lesson. The kids have to bring firewood in the winter mo make fire because it gets really cold in Boston. I teach them reading, writing arithmetic and religion. I get paid with goods, not money. There is a teacher name Ezekiel Cheever is a really good friend of mine. 44
One thing I really hate in my colony is that people make the WORST laws in the world. Why can’t female teachers have families? And why can’t school start an hour later? Sometimes in school the kids prank me and that’s when I REALLY punish them . Saying all of this makes me want to quit my job even more. I am one of the rich people so it doesn’t matter if I don’t have a job. Instead of being a teacher I’d rather have a free life with MY FAMILY that I will get when I QUIT my job. I’m thing of getting married to a really handsome man and having 5 children, and I’m not going to send them to school because the theaters are really strict and mean, I could teach them and I will move to Hawaii. I also wish for my children to have a family that lives for a long time. What I really like is that I fell confident when I think about all my hopes and dreams. sometimes I enjoy teaching and there’s a student in my class that I really love named Amaryllis. I am sure I will name one of my kids like that. I really trust her and lover her and her name. I also like eating and spending time with other people. My favorite day of my life was when I met Ezekiel Cheever and we became friends. I really love my life but it’s not perfect.
Benjamin Franklin By Lantian Zehe
Have you ever wondered of one of the greatest founding fathers of all times? Well that’s me, Benjamin Franklin. I was born on 17, 1706, Boston, Massachusetts. I had 17 siblings. When I was small, I worked as a printer in Philadelphia and I was really successful! I published one of the most popular books in the colonies called “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” I participated in the American Revolution. I did a lot of help during the war like sending secret messages. I also opened Philadelphia’s first public library, fire department, and hospital. I lived long enough to see a new nation rebirth, the United States of America. My life was great. I married a woman called Deborah and had three kids. I was also an inventor and scientist. One of my most famous experiments of all time was to attach a key to a kite and fly it in a storm. The lightning struck the kite and the key received the electricity. I touched the key and I got shocked. A bigger shock would have killed me. I proved that vitreous and resinous electricity was not different electricity. They were electricity under different pressure. During my lifetime, I struggled with obesity. Obesity is a disease where you become fat. My first job was to make candles, soap, and other household products with my dad. If I didn’t go to Philadelphia, I would have been stuck in Massachusetts working for my dad or my brother. When I was small, I wished I would be a big help to the world. And now I am! But for now a big problem is in my way. I am struggling with obesity! It has made my life more difficult and I’m not able to do many things. I hope that later in my life I live peacefully, my kids be a big help to the world just like me! I am really happy for how far I’ve gotten in life. I enjoyed how I helped Philadelphia develop. My most intense and amazing moment I ever had was the American Revolution. I had gone back to England to live. While I was in England, I testified in the British parliament against the stamp acts. I was part of the Declaration of Independence, in which the thirteen colonies declared freedom from British rule. They were good times. Now, I’m really proud of myself for seeing a new nation rebirth, the United States of America. I don’t know how much longer I could live. But when I die, I hope the world will live in peace and never have a war 45
My Life as a Blacksmith By Leonidas Mendrinos
Hello, my name is James. I’m a blacksmith in a two just two hours on horse form Boston I live with my family in a log cabin. Our neighbors are pretty fine, as long as they’re Patriots. I’m in charge of the building of horse shoes and weapons in Boston. The problem is that we’re running out of money and my hammer broke after the incident with the dog. I’ll have to make money for a trip to Boston to buy materials for another one. I have an apprentice which wants to learn my art. The first day, I thought he’d kill himself. He’s a kid from Charleston, Virginia. I have no idea how he managed to get here but he’s nice company. I don’t like the situation we’re in. There are too many soldiers around here. I’m personally against the taxes. My family, the Mendrinos family , is in contact with James Warren Lane. He’s a carpenter and he provides us with furniture. All thanks to a meeting we had in Boston. From then on we started a shop in Boston, now it’s a company called the James Brothers. In 1742 we went into business and have sold metal objects and wooden furniture. I have started to get more time off doing my Blacksmithing. My shop is small, pretty dark, has tools hanging from the ceiling and a fire lit in a dark forge. I have to work from sunup to sunset every which is very tiring. I make all sorts of things, especially horseshoes. To make a horseshoe you have to melt the iron in order to shape the metal into the shape of a shoe. I like living in Boston because I’m away from King George and his tyranny. Unfortunately, Boston is not much better because there are these tax laws which I hate. This makes me a Patriot. I’m against the Parliament and King George. I like Massachusetts because of its cold weather. I’m not really a summer fan, but I prefer the winter. That’s pretty much life. James Mendrinos
My life as a Carpenter By Jamie Lane
My name is James Warren Lane. I live in Connecticut in New England. As a young boy, I became a carpenter. I live in a house close by a river with trees. Carpenters need an environment that has plenty of timber. I helped out with other carpenters but now I’m independent carpenter. . I made my first house with nice spruce wood. Carpenters use all kinds of wood and they use axes to cut down trees. Also big saws are used to cut through bark. Carpenters usually get splints, due to the kid of work they do, I usual get them on my hand because I do a lot of hand work with wood. My first house was a small outskirt house. I love it. It was a little messy but it doesn’t matter. At the age of 21, I had a good amount of knowledge to construct house, dens, shops and workshops. I also know about smoothing out wood and making fences as well as insulation. Carpenters also make household objects for interiors of general houses. I also have a hard time with splinters as I said because I carry wood, that’s a complaint. I can’t stand seeing thin wood stuck in my arms and hands. Without carpentry, no colonist or any being would have shelter. I fell great that I became a carpenter. I get paid and enjoy building houses and objects. Carpenters work with all kinds of wood to make houses have color. As I said, I love my building experience of architecture and construction. Carpenters can go wild in their imagination and create anything. Also my ancestor Job Lane was a carpenter. He has a museum in the U.S.A. Check it out!
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Fourth Grader Christina Moundrea Tells us How Athens got its Name Some legends in Greece come from Greek mythology. One of these legends describes how Athens got its name. Legend has it that once upon a time there was a half man half horse called Cecrops and his city was at the top of a beautiful hill called Cecropia . Cecrops was a good king and his city became very well known. It also became the center of trading . The gods of Olympus got jealous of this beautiful city and wanted to name the city. They wanted to name it after one of them so they fought and they also argued over who’s name the city would have. Then after a long time there were two main contestants, the god of sea Poseidon and the goddess of wisdom Athina. They both begged Zeus the ruler of all gods. They begged to become guardian of the city. After a lot of thought Zeus had a plan, both gods had to bring a gift to king Cecrops and his citizens and whichever gift was chosen the name of the city would be named after that god. A few weeks later the two gods were ready to present the gifts they had chosen to give to the city. First Poseidon struck his trident into the hill top and created a big fountain of water. Poseidon told the people that if only if they chose him as their god he would give them a never ending flow of water and he also said” you will never be thirsty again’’. The citizens were all amazed. But when they went to try the water it was salt water and they could not drink it so, next was Athina’s turn. All that she had was a small olive seed in her hand. She then threw it into the hill and it immediately turned into a beautiful olive tree. Then Athina told everyone that if they chose her she would plant olive trees everywhere around the city and everyone would get wood, oil, and fire wood. The citizens yelled out “Athina” and so by legend that is how Athens got it amazing name after the goddess of wisdom Athina.
First Grader Elli Koutsolioutsou Identifies with Sal in the Book “Blueberries for Sal”.
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Students Research and Write about Animals Groundhogs
By Second Grader Zach Varnes
Sharks
By Third Grader Reece Mersiowsky “Swish, swash,” did you hear that, it’s a shark. Let me tell you some things about them. There are many different types of sharks. The Tiger Shark grows up to 6 meters! The Great White Shark can grow up to 3.6 meters. The Hammer Head Shark can grow up to 6 meters too! Sharks are cool because of their shape as well. They have fins and they have tails. Their body is shaped like an oval too. The texture of their skin is rough. Sharks do many amazing things. They are fast swimmers. They can catch octopus! Crabs are the easiest to catch for them. They also can catch squid! Now you know about sharks! So you can tell all of your friends! Sharks have as much right to live as any other animal!
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Cheetahs
By Second Grader Amit Avrahami
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Second Graders Learn about Africa Africa
By Dorothea Spyratou
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All About Africa
By Phaedra MacDonald
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Poems First Grade Warm Colors Fall Tree Collage
Lara Jonas
Anjali Raphael
Mariza Koulouri 52
Fifth Graders Write Poetry
The Tree
By Anna Vitalioti The tree, Always there, Spreads out its branches Like a bird spreading out its wings. The tree, Its top touches the sky. Standing still like a soldier, showing off its pride. The tree, Beautiful green leaves, that cover him up all year like a dark green coat. The tree, A lovely green in the wind, Beautifully, and peacefully it stands and shall stand.
Sky, Showing its True Feelings By Kristine Cabatic
You can’t touch the sky, It’s gloomy and grey, starts to get bright, Then turns dark, clouds appear everywhere, Clouds are moving fast and the sky is moving too, Then it’s clearing away. Time is flowing, the skies are changing, It turns cold and lonely, then sun shines, Skies are not a shape but it’s a memory box, It’s raining sadness, On one side it’s dark, and the other is bright, Now this is the time of sleeping under the sky.
GOAL
By Constantine Samarikas Every knot in this net, Is like every penalty saved. It’s as cold like the Shiver, That you have at a free kick on the 90th minute. The goalie is like your twin, But you can never trust him. No one can resist, Your strength, And power. Sometimes you let the world down. Your fans are waiting, eager, To find your luck. But there’s one thing, You need to know, The goal never, Makes one, Mistake. 53